LOCAL BRIEFS: OFFICERS ENFORCE 'DRUGGED DRIVING'

December marks the sixth anniversary of the enactment of a Wisconsin
law that prohibits motorists from driving if they have any detectable
amount of marijuana, cocaine or other restricted controlled substance
in their system.

The penalties for drugged driving are the same as for drunken driving,
said Fond du Lac County Sheriff Mick Fink in a news release.

Law enforcement officers throughout the state have extensive training
and experience in procedures that effectively identify drivers
impaired by alcohol, he said. Officers use many of those same
procedures to identify drugged drivers.

"Drivers who exhibit behavior or symptoms indicative of drug use must
submit to a blood test that determines the presence of drugs," Fink
said. "Refusing to submit to the blood test means an automatic
revocation of the driver's license."

In addition to illegal drugs, the overuse or abuse of medications,
especially when combined with alcohol, will often cause impaired driving.

State law prohibits drivers from being "under the influence of any
drug to a degree which renders him or her incapable of safely driving
or under the combined influence of an intoxicant and any other drug to
a degree which renders him or her incapable of driving safely."

"Drivers under the influence of drugs, alcohol or a combination of the
two are deadly threats to everyone on the road," Fink said. "That's
why officers never take a break - even over the holiday season - from
arresting those who choose to get behind the wheel while impaired."